Purple Orache Mom of the Year

[Mackay]

I planted purple Orache this year for the first time. Problem is I have no idea how to eat it? Salad or steamed?

 

[digitS']

Both, Mackay!

It is really tender and, very pretty in a salad.

Steamed or stir-fried, you have to resign yourself to what looks like beet greens. In other words, not green but purple. May have the psychological effect of making you think you are eating beets. Okay with me - baby beets, cooked with a little bacon and splashed with vinegar, are just about my favorite vegetable.

Steve
oh and, try to harvest them when they are a little less mature than the mom-of-the-year. those leaves are still tender and nice but i will remove all of the stems at that stage. you can harvest from the plants several times.

 

[hoodat]

I had never heard of dinosaur until I was read an article about eating bitter greens. I think it was Dr. Oz. I looked for bitter greens and somewhere found dinosaur kale on the list, but I can't find it right now, so I wanted to grow some and found that I already had it under a different name. I called mine Italian kale. It also is Lacinato, Tuscan kale or black kale. I did not want to miss out on growing the most special best kale, so I planted several kinds.

I've noticed that rabbits like a bitter taste in their greens. I can have plenty of uneaten clover in a rabbit cage because they have eaten all they want but toss in some dandelion or prickly lettuce and they will dive on it.

 

[the1honeycomb]

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h22/Digit_007/DSC00672_zps713f3123.jpg

She's kind of pretty, don't you think? The leaves are still tender. I had several smaller plants for lunch .

She is mostly out-of-the-way altho' I will put a stake beside her to hold her upright and that will also allow me to pull the hose around without knocking her down. The carrots will stay in that bed for much of the season and she has several kale companions. Just down the path are a couple of the "Dinosaur Kale" that I'm trying this year.

She is known as Mountain Spinach altho' I'm not sure why. You can see the relationship to the spinach cousin, Lambsquarters, also know as Goosefoot. "Orache" is spelled with or without the "e."

The Purple Orache was the earliest annual from the veggie garden this year, just like usual. I had bok choy out of the hoop house earlier but this tender spinach relative has provided several nice harvests, all for the price of dealing with the volunteers from 2012. They weren't much bother altho' they showed up in great numbers. I have had Orache in the garden for a good 10 years and wouldn't want to be without it. That's why, I have found room for the Mom of the Year.

Steve

That is so sweet. keep her safe!